tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77995009761685803322024-03-04T23:29:53.800-08:00Crime ReconstructionFor discussion regarding crime reconstruction education, training, methods, cases, issues, and courtroom testimony.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-31094903739292633012013-08-10T18:48:00.002-07:002013-08-10T19:00:40.711-07:00The Denice Haraway Case: Abduction, Murder, and a Missing Child <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Note</b>: This piece is drawn from facts and information detailed in <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.2em;">the Forensic report by the author (Brent E. Turvey, PhD) filed with Fontenot's application for relief, See: </span><a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/Turvey_Haraway_Report_060313.pdf" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"><span style="line-height: 1.2em;">Investiga</span>tive and Forensic Assessment: Abduction and Homicide of Donna "Denice" Haraway</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Donna "Denice" Haraway</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">(24,WF) </span><span style="font-size: large;">was </span><span style="font-size: large;">considered to be an attractive woman, though shy and a bit awkward, </span><span style="font-size: large;">by those who knew her</span><span style="font-size: large;">. She </span><span style="font-size: large;">was eight months into her marriage with Steven Haraway at the time of her abduction from McAnally's convenience store. </span><span style="font-size: large;">She had been </span><span style="font-size: large;">employed there, working the counter, for about nine months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By all accounts, Haraway was a dedicated student, in addition to being a wife and a holding down a job. She was enrolled </span><span style="font-size: large;">at a local college, </span><span style="font-size: large;">working towards a teaching degree. She would even</span><span style="font-size: large;"> study at the store, behind the counter, when things were slow. However, she</span><span style="font-size: large;"> had also been receiving </span><span style="font-size: large;">harassing phone calls while work. And only while at work. This caused her a great deal of concern for her safety, as she often worked alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Abduction</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">According to law enforcement reports, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">Haraway</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"> was last seen at </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">McAnally's</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"> convenience store around 8:30 P.M. on Saturday, April </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">28th,1984. She was the lone clerk on duty that evening. This was not uncommon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In relation to Haraway's disappearance, a regular customer, Gene Whelchel, made three calls that evening: <i>first</i> he called Mr. McAnally, the owner of </span><span style="font-size: large;">the store; <i>second</i>, he called the store manager, Monroe Atkeson; and <i>third</i>, he called the Ada (Oklahoma) </span><span style="font-size: large;">Police Department. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Whelchel explained that when he arrived at the store, the clerk was not there and the cash </span><span style="font-size: large;">register drawer was open. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Atkeson, the store manager, drove from his home to the store. Additionally, Ada </span><span style="font-size: large;">PD responded to the scene.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other relevant background is taken directly from the court's decision in <i>Fontenot v. State</i> (1988):</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Karl Fontenot</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"[Karl Fontenot] and Tommy Ward were tried for the crimes during September, 1985. In October of 1984, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Tommy Ward made a statement to law enforcement officers which inculpated Fontenot, an individual </span><span style="font-size: large;">named Odell Titsworth, and to a slighter degree, himself. Fontenot and Titsworth were arrested as a result </span><span style="font-size: large;">and Fontenot gave a statement substantially in agreement with Ward's except that it more clearly inculpated </span><span style="font-size: large;">Ward. In each Ward's and Fontenot's statements, the instigator and ringleader in the criminal acts was said </span><span style="font-size: large;">to be Titsworth. However, Titsworth was eliminated as a suspect within a few days of his arrest because of </span><span style="font-size: large;">clear proof the police had that he had not been an accomplice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to the statements of Ward and Fontenot, Haraway was robbed of approximately $150.00, abducted, and taken to the grounds behind a power plant in Ada where she was raped. According to [Fontenot's] version, she was then taken to an abandoned house behind the plant where Titsworth stabbed her to death. She was then burned along with the house. When Haraway's remains were found in Hughes County, there was no evidence of charring or of stab wounds, and there was a single bullet wound to the skull."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is helpful to understand that </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">Karl Fontenot and Tommy Ward were convicted of abducting and murdering Hawaray 5 months before her body was actually found.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Murder</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">On Monday, January 20</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">, 1986, a trapper found the partial skeletal remains of Denice Haraway; these were later identified through her dental records. The remains were located approximately 1 mile south, and 3 ½ miles west, of Gerty, Oklahoma off a county road. The remains were found scattered in a wooded area. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The few crime scene photographs that were taken depict a skull, various scattered bones, and a conspicuous pile of bones placed on a rock. Bits and pieces of clothing and jewelry were also found at the scene, but not photographed or otherwise documented. According to Mrs. Haraway’s autopsy report, a gunshot wound to the head was reported as the probable cause of death. There was no evidence that the victim was stabbed, burned, or sexually assaulted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In short, every detail alleged to be provided by Fontenot and Ward to investigators about the abduction and murder of Denice Haraway turned out to be either unsubstantiated or completely false.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Post-Conviction Review</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In late 2012, this author (Brent E. Turvey, PhD) was retained by attorney Tiffany Murphy to conduct a post conviction review of the facts and evidence related to the abduction and murder of Donna “Denice” Haraway, and the conviction of Karl A. Fontenot (<i>Fontenot v. State</i>, 1988). He was then asked to provide a professional assessment of the quality, competence, and thoroughness of the investigative and forensic efforts in this case. This assessment was conducted with the intent of determining whether sufficient investigative and forensic efforts have been undertaken to establish the facts of the case for use in related court proceedings.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were four major findings, the last of which is perhaps the most significant.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i>First</i>: The investigative and forensic efforts of law enforcement at the location of Haraway’s abduction (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">McAnally’s convenience store; April 28, 1984) were inadequate rising to the level of <i>abandonment.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">This prevented the recognition, preservation, collection, and testing specific items of evidence, as well as an untold volume of evidence that would have been missed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b>Note</b>: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As discussed in Crowder and Turvey (2013), and Gershman (1997), professional </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">abandonment</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> refers to incompetence and negligence to the point of effective professional absence causing harm to the client. In effect, it also refers to the abandonment of one’s professional duty of care.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i>Second</i>: The investigative efforts of law enforcement subsequent to Haraway’s abduction </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">were inadequate rising to the level of abandonment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i>Third</i>: The investigative and forensic efforts of law enforcement at the location where Haraway’s remains were found (West of Gerty, off a county road; Monday, January 20</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">, 1986</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">) were inadequate rising to the level of abandonment. This prevented the recognition, preservation, collection, and testing specific items of evidence, as well as an untold volume of evidence that would have been missed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b>A Missing Child</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Everyone agrees that Donna Haraway had not given birth prior to her abduction. However, her remains tell a different story.</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"> The remains found </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">West of Gerty</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">, which are conclusively identified as those of Donna “Denice” Haraway, belong to an adult female that has given birth to at least one child through her birth canal. As stated clearly in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">Report from Richard McWilliams, Phd, Consulting Forensic Anthropologist to the ME’s Office, dated January 23, 1986: “Marks on the pelvis indicate she had given birth to at least one child."</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This finding means that the victim would need to have been held in captivity for up to as many as nine months in order to have given birth. Consequently, any suspects generated would need to be capable of physically holding her. They would need a place to do it, and they would need to be available to keep her alive while she was captive. This means another crime scene.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">Additionally, no skeletal remains of an infant were found in association with the remains of</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">Donna “Denice” Haraway. This means that either those scene search efforts were inadequate to the task of finding them; that the child was killed subsequent to its birth and disposed of elsewhere; or that the child was not killed and may yet be alive. None of these possibilities have been investigated, or excluded, by investigative efforts to date.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This leads to the author's final conclusion, which is: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;">It is unclear from the case record that anyone, whether prosecution or defense, fully understood that forensic reports indicated that the victim had given birth to at least one child. Moreover, nobody involved seemed to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">understand</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"> what this meant for the investigation and prosecution of Karl Fontenot. There is no evidence whatsoever that anyone focused on or followed up on this forensic finding, which is perhaps the single most important finding in this case.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In a case that already involves </span>significant<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> volumes of evidence (e.g., investigative reports and physical evidence) </span>withheld<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> from the defense, and investigative shortcomings across the board, the failure to grasp and follow up on this issue is not a </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">surprise. However, this does not make it less important. Those interested in seeking the truth in this case, with the duty of care to do so, have an obligation to find out whether this child born subsequent to Harway's captivity was killed or perhaps remains alive to this day. The answer to that question is likely the answer to the entire case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully, these and other relevant issues will be considered by the court in relation to the Application for Post-Conviction Relief filed by defense Attorney Tiffany Murphy late last month, on behalf of <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">The Oklahoma Innocence Project.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">See: <a href="http://forensicvictimology.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-oklahoman-report-sparks-debate-over.html">The Oklahoman: Report sparks debate over innocence of Karl Fontenot</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>REFERENCES</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjRSQf-_YpRhbJSi2KzPeRBmoIBN9UO9X97OlNcbwB8FIRM7vZIyVwNdX90unyLkxpzXIYSI6hTTRtkzl1waOBFqmVlRf_HjPmGTA6_Vz6Eu2HF7ifrhlEWnA98S1I_WCFs2VHZsC5QM/s1600/Chisum_2E_FINAL_Cover_Apr_10_2011.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjRSQf-_YpRhbJSi2KzPeRBmoIBN9UO9X97OlNcbwB8FIRM7vZIyVwNdX90unyLkxpzXIYSI6hTTRtkzl1waOBFqmVlRf_HjPmGTA6_Vz6Eu2HF7ifrhlEWnA98S1I_WCFs2VHZsC5QM/s200/Chisum_2E_FINAL_Cover_Apr_10_2011.jpeg" width="146" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Chisum, J. and Turvey, B. (2011) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Reconstruction-Second-Jerry-Chisum/dp/0123864607/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376182791&sr=1-3"><i>Crime Reconstruction</i>, <i>2nd ed</i></a>., San Diego: Elsevier Science. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Crowder, S. and Turvey, B. (2013) <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Justice-Criminal-Students-Professionals/dp/0124045979/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376182763&sr=1-8">Ethical Justice: Applied Issues for Criminal Justice Students and Professionals</a></i>, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">San Diego: Elsevier Science.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>Fontenot v. State</i> (1988) OK CR 170, 742 P.2d 31, Case Number: F-85-769. See also:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://works.bepress.com/tiffany_murphy/5/" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: left;"><i>Karl Fontenot v. State of Oklahoma</i>, District Court of Pontotoc County State of Oklahoma, No. CR-88-43. Brief in Support of Application for Post-Conviction Relief</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Gershman, B. (1997) </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Trial Error and Misconduct</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, Lexis Law, Charlottesville, VA.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-39557324731711477032013-05-15T20:27:00.000-07:002013-08-25T12:39:19.564-07:00Forensic Science: Fraud and Error on the Rise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All across the United States, crime lab scandals have been making headlines. Not just in recent months, but for years. At the local level, this is generally perceived to be an isolated problem. The reality, however, is quite different. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As explained in the new text </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Fraud-Evaluating-Enforcement-Misconduct/dp/0124080731/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368659473&sr=1-9">Forensic Fraud: Evaluating Law Enforcement and</a> </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Fraud-Evaluating-Enforcement-Misconduct/dp/0124080731/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368659473&sr=1-9">Forensic Science Cultures in the Context of Examiner Misconduct</a> (Elsevier, 2013), </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">crime lab scandals related to forensic fraud and error are on </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the rise - worsening in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the last few years. The result has been dozens of crime lab closures, tens of thousands of criminal cases thrown out and overturned, and millions of dollars in successful lawsuits against government agencies.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtPqH7RT7Tk0B1NJ-P1xrRlrDumlqDspm9JkhFE7ZYAW_UZfbSOy7yEv2gG9POmoI9N4FNDzP2Js4TPpe_DhLsaWOGw6VrD6aKcBEAAQtleie-FXZhemrsqSQr48nsOwmhziAnZ-MxPo/s1600/510TclhpzLL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtPqH7RT7Tk0B1NJ-P1xrRlrDumlqDspm9JkhFE7ZYAW_UZfbSOy7yEv2gG9POmoI9N4FNDzP2Js4TPpe_DhLsaWOGw6VrD6aKcBEAAQtleie-FXZhemrsqSQr48nsOwmhziAnZ-MxPo/s320/510TclhpzLL.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Fraud-Evaluating-Enforcement-Misconduct/dp/0124080731/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368675067&sr=1-9">Forensic Fraud</a> </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Elsevier, 2013)</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The subject </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">remains sore and often forbidden within the forensic </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">science community. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Consequently, the frequency and conditions of its occurrence have not </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">been researched, and incidents are regularly hidden from </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">public scrutiny to maintain the reputations of those agencies and crime </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">laboratories that have suffered its stain. As discussed in this new text (available in June), this is at least in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">part because those who have direct knowledge of forensic </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fraud also have a vested interest in keeping it from becoming public </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">knowledge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are a number of contributing factors: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, hiding or ignoring misconduct preserves the image of an examiner's agency or lab, and by extension their </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">own reputation, out of concern for courtroom credibility and future employment </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">prospects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Additionally, it must be understood that forensic practitioners are by definition </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">involved in sensitive </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">casework. As a function of their employment contracts, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">they may operate under strict confidentiality agreements or non-disclosure </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">clauses that might preclude communication of any kind about active casework—</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">especially that which reflects negatively on their employer. The fear of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">losing employment-related income (e.g., being fired), and any future employment </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">prospects, is generally sufficient enough for most to avoid causing a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">breach, even when it is in the public interest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority of forensic scientists are also employed directly by police agencies </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or by crime labs associated with law enforcement and the prosecution. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Consequently, open discussion and study of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">forensic fraud have long been considered a “third rail” in the forensic community. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A brief explanation is necessary: the third </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rail is the method of providing electrical power to a railway, such as a mass </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">transit system, by means of an exposed conductor. Anyone who touches the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">third rail is killed instantly by a surge of electricity. So it is with the issue of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fraud. Such a discussion necessarily involves critical review of the actions and </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">motives of law enforcement, prosecutors, and their scientific agents. These </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">are not professional communities that are generally receptive of criticism or </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">outside review, and they are frequently hostile to external or independent </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">efforts involving either</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Consequently, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">any forensic practitioner who raises these or related issues risks touching the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">third rail—being the object of hostility and derision within the law enforcement </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and government lab community, and committing career suicide in the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">process. This means not only the loss of employment, but also one’s friends, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">colleagues, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and professional identity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a consequence of these and other related factors, the phenomenon of forensic fraud has remained a mystery ---- until now. The publication of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Fraud-Evaluating-Enforcement-Misconduct/dp/0124080731/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368659473&sr=1-9" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forensic Fraud</a> </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">represents the first real scientific effort to study and understand what happens when forensic scientists go bad and why - with realistic reforms. A more timely report on the state of forensic science is difficult to imagine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In short, the research demonstrates that forensic fraud is not an isolated problem resulting from a few bad apples. Rather, it is most often the result of systemic and cultural failures, and arises primarily in association with law enforcement employed forensic personnel or those working for the prosecution. And when it is discovered, those involved are not generally fired, prosecuted, or otherwise punished - rather they are most often retained, perhaps transferred, or allowed to resign and move on to another agency where fraud can continue anew.</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Fraud-Evaluating-Enforcement-Misconduct/dp/0124080731/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368659473&sr=1-9">Forensic Fraud</a> </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">defines the nature of the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">problems in the forensic community; helps readers to understand </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the social contexts and personal motives that facilitate forensic fraud; </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">provides informed strategies for mitigating forensic fraud; and ultimately seeks to keep </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the criminal justice system honest with itself and the public that it serves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some recent examples of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">forensic fraud, error, and other misconduct from just the past six months include the following:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Washington State Patrol Crime Lab</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Among the most beleaguered crime lab systems in the nation at the moment, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with a steady stream of scandals since 1999 (with the termination of </span><a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Oversight-of-crime-lab-staff-has-often-been-lax-1149961.php" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr. John</a> <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Oversight-of-crime-lab-staff-has-often-been-lax-1149961.php" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brown</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for DNA related fraud), Lab Manager</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/State-crime-lab-manager-resigns-amid-investigation-203214851.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kevin Fortney resigned</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> his post this year while under investigation for fraud and error relating to multiple cases. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0bUq55M2hjcdG/100x75.jpg?center=0.5,0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0bUq55M2hjcdG/100x75.jpg?center=0.5,0" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kevin Fortney</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And it's only gotten worse since he left, with new revelations being uncovered every week. The Fortney scandal occurred while this lab system was only just healing from the fraud committed by former Lab Director </span><a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/15643687.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Barry Logan</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and his subordinate </span><a href="http://www.waduicenter.com/?p=1449" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anne Marie Gordon</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Scottsdale Police Department Crime Lab</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Scottsdale police crime lab criminalists, supervisors, and prosecutors have been arguing in court whether </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">blood-alcohol evidence processed in the lab can trusted because of problems with equipment. They say it can. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">However, <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/20130510scottsdale-crime-lab-problems.html">internal emails</a> recently discovered to the defense </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">paint a very different picture.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 15px;">3. </span>Onondaga County Crime Lab in Syracuse, NY</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fight between the Syracuse Police Department and the district attorney's office over who controls the <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/inspector_general_probes_syrac.html?goback=%2Egmr_117531%2Eamf_117531_25131858%2Egde_117531_member_234174213">Onondaga County </a></span><a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/inspector_general_probes_syrac.html?goback=%2Egmr_117531%2Eamf_117531_25131858%2Egde_117531_member_234174213">crime lab</a> reached a fever pitch this year, resulting in an investigation by the Inspector General's Office. No wrongdoing was uncovered at the lab, but tensions between the</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> police department and the district attorney's office remain high.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><span style="line-height: 15px;">4. Hinton Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain, </span></b></span><b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Massachusetts</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/03/14/174269211/mass-crime-lab-scandal-reverberates-across-state" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Annie Dookhan scandal</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> began unfolding in 2012. It involved dry-labbing in more than 30,000 cases, hundreds of cases overturned, and a crime </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2012/12/20/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/3b3fffa559fe467ebd9554052af8fc82-02a38d84b8734023240f6a706700cbff-3325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2012/12/20/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/3b3fffa559fe467ebd9554052af8fc82-02a38d84b8734023240f6a706700cbff-3325.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Annie Dookhan</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lab so bankrupt of scientific </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">integrity and accountability at all levels of management that it had to be shut down. The investigation of the lab alone is still costing the state tens of millions. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Though</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> she confessed to investigators, she recently plead not guilty in court after being indicted for charges related to her many acts of fraud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was far worse than the fraud committed by </span><a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/crime/2013/03/former-sf-police-crime-lab-tech-pleads-guilty-cocaine-possession" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Debra Madden</a>,<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> which forced the closure of the San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab (and is only just now winding down after four longs years of dismissed cases, hidden evidence, and hypocrisy). Consequently, the Annie Dookhan scandal will go down as one of the worst in the history of the forensic sciences. </span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5<span style="line-height: 15px;">. Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.bevelgardner.com/index.php?kenneth-f-martin">Det. Lt. Kenneth F. Martin</a>, commanding officer of the </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Crime Scene Services Section, was recently <a href="http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1916523329/Crime-lab-head-loses-post">stripped of his command and reassigned</a> when it was learned that he was moonlighting as a defense expert on local cases.</span></span></span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6<span style="line-height: 15px;">. Canton-Stark County Crime Lab - Ohio</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Stark County Crime Lab has been plagued with problems for the past year. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d2om8tvz4lgco4.cloudfront.net/archive/x1672006390/g12c000000000000000232a3e94d81b88035f50eb753af0e38596591905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://d2om8tvz4lgco4.cloudfront.net/archive/x1672006390/g12c000000000000000232a3e94d81b88035f50eb753af0e38596591905.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Michael Short</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Primarily, these relate to the inability to keep a fraudulent scientist fired (criminalist <a href="http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x171169391/Crime-lab-worker-fired-again">Michael Short</a>); and the improper hiring of an unqualified police officer as lab director </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(</span><a href="http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x1959339983/Rick-Perez-is-out" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rick Perez</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. This required the director's near immediate resignation.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Currently, in part due to evidence backlogs that have come to light because of the recent leadership change, </span><a href="http://www.the-review.com/local%20news/2013/05/15/stark-county-crime-lab-will-send-dna-testing-out-for-time-being" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DNA testing has been halted</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> at the lab. It is currently being outsourced to the BCI. </span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7<span style="line-height: 15px;">. Beckley </span></span></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Police Department - West Virginia</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x6219722/g0a00000000000000007f89b9cbf5fe5d046eef0efe1f11979b990f2950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x6219722/g0a00000000000000007f89b9cbf5fe5d046eef0efe1f11979b990f2950.jpg" width="113" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gabriella Brown</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the kind of case that is becoming all too common in the forensic sciences (see Sonja Farak, below), Gabriella Brown, an evidence technician, was charged with <a href="http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/121005_11179.shtml">stealing drugs</a> from the evidence locker she was in charge of. She was a civilian employee of the PD, and also holds an online Masters degree in Forensic Science from Marshall University. She recently <a href="http://bdtonline.com/latest/x508488325/Former-Beckley-Police-Department-evidence-tech-gets-probation">plead guilty</a> and was sentenced to four years probation.</span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8<span style="line-height: 15px;">. Massachusetts State Drug Lab - Amherst</span></span></b><br />
<a href="http://www.gazettenet.com/home/5411166-95/jury-indicts-former-state-crime-lab-chemist-sonja-farak" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sonja Farak</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, a forensic chemist, was recently indicted for stealing drugs and otherwise tampering with evidence at the state drug lab in Amherst, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Massachusetts</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. The case is ongoing.</span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9<span style="line-height: 15px;">. California State Crime Lab - Ripon</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130516/A_NEWS/305160315">Hermon Brown</a>, a criminalist, was recently convicted of embezzlement in relation to the theft of methamphetamine and cocaine from his lab</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. He was skimming from the drugs submitted by law enforcement, which alters weights and related charges. The fraud comes from misreporting the true weights in logbooks and reports. His fraud compromised dozens of local trials where he was scheduled to testify. After a couple of years waiting trial, he plead out and took 16 months of jail time.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-14965471716933024682012-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:002012-08-08T11:01:41.750-07:00Test the Evidence to Make the Case; Not the Other Way Around<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>by <a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/brent/brent_cv.html" style="text-align: left;">Brent E. Turvey, MS</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to a recent story by ABC affiliate WSIL-TV in Illinois (Finnegan, E. (2012) "<a href="http://www.wsiltv.com/news/local/Attorneys-Concerned-About-Crime-Lab-Closure-164947966.html">Attorneys Concerned About Crime Lab Closure</a>," <i>WSILTV</i>, August 3), attorneys in Illinois have voiced concern about a plan to shut down the State Police Crime Lab in Carbondale. It is of interest to note that this lab handles a high volume of forensic casework (<a href="http://thesouthern.com/news/local/prosecutor-police-lab-would-be-sorely-missed/article_94998562-5dd6-11e1-b7ca-001871e3ce6c.html">more than 3600 per year</a>), and that one its employees just won an award for forensic scientist of the year for managing that high volume along with facilitating training for police and prosecutors (see "<a href="http://thesouthern.com/news/local/employee-wins-top-forensic-scientist-award/article_6ccc79ae-df5e-11e1-8d1d-001a4bcf887a.html">Employee wins top forensic scientist award</a>").</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpeFz1OS9SW4v734dUarFeKKw7r00MDhNPAuoNMUzDbPU1WQctVF4p_L0jka7XJ8Rvz2tpUVtutAjStz5xf0E855bdmQZdDp4a0EMaw8Dia7FwQdT68wYqxATgbZBf4gku_PQETTu78A/s1600/BellevilleForensicLabRenderingPromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpeFz1OS9SW4v734dUarFeKKw7r00MDhNPAuoNMUzDbPU1WQctVF4p_L0jka7XJ8Rvz2tpUVtutAjStz5xf0E855bdmQZdDp4a0EMaw8Dia7FwQdT68wYqxATgbZBf4gku_PQETTu78A/s320/BellevilleForensicLabRenderingPromo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This lab closure is part of <a href="http://thesouthern.com/news/local/tamms-lab-transition-center-all-needed-cops-prosecutors-say/article_3a0f49de-95a2-11e1-bf1a-001a4bcf887a.html">an overall plan</a> to merge the responsibilities of two separate crime labs into one at a new facility that has yet to be completed in Belleville (the 37.8 million dollar facility, shown here in an artists rendering, is scheduled for completion sometime in 2015</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">). Among many immediate </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">budget cuts made by Governor Pat Quinn, this specific closure will save around $230,000.00. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As reported in Finnegan (2012):</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The plan is to merge the Carbondale lab and one in Fairview Heights into a new, state-of-the art facility being built in Belleville; not everyone is convinced the governor's savings plan will be worth it.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"The governor and state police are doing something short sighted," said Jackson County State's Attorney Mike Wepsiec.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Wepsiec predicts moving the work done at the Carbondale lab 80 miles north could mean major delays in cases. He's not alone.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"It's just going to clog the courts even more," said Richard Whitney, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Whitney and Wepsiec are usually on opposite sides of the courtroom. But on the closure they're in total agreement, even using the exact same phrase to describe the situation. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"The old saying is justice delayed is justice denied," remarked Wepsiec, "And there's a lot of truth to that."</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"There's a saying that justice delayed is justice denied, and I think this is an illustration of it," Whitney told News 3.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The Carbondale lab handles everything from DNA to testing drugs and even urine samples for DUIs. In the CSI-era, labs are busier than ever and already dealing with a backlog. Both men fear adding extra travel time just to get the evidence in the technicians' hands will only make things worse.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Time is of the essence; Wepsiec explains if a suspect can't make bond or doesn't have a bond they must be tried within 120 days.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"I only see us being pushed against the wall and having to release some dangerous people before trial, because they cannot get the work done within 120 days," he said.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Prosecutors can file for an extension and attorneys say it's likely more of those will be necessary if the Carbondale lab shuts down. For the defense, that means clients could end up spending more time behind bars.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"You haven't done anything wrong," said Whitney, "Because you're waiting for some crime lab to go through it. That's not justice, that's an offense against our Constitutional scheme."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a practicing forensic scientist, it is easy to agree that relying on the hard work of police examiners is essential to justice. It is also easy to agree that justice delayed is justice denied - unless of course a defendant waives that right for reasons that are both prudent and strategic, often in exchange for some concession by the prosecution. The evaluation, testing, and interpretation of physical evidence is essential to this process, whether it is done by the state or the accused. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition, I agree that closing the high volume lab at Carbondale makes little sense with the three year gap in services that appears to be on the immediate horizon, as the State Police and their forensic scientists wait for the new lab to materialize in Belleville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, the specific concerns voiced by the attorneys quoted in this story bely an important reality about the criminal justice system in general, and physical evidence in specific, that might be missed by the average citizen. Note that the defense attorney is worried that delays in the testing of evidence means "clients could end up spending more time behind bars". And that the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">prosecutor is concerned about "having to release some dangerous people before trial, because [the crime lab] cannot get the work done within 120 days". These are admissions to a strange reality that both sides have come to accept as normal: the arrest of criminal suspects (and I do mean suspects) BEFORE the results of physical evidence examination and testing are known. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is true that a case can be made against a criminal suspect, and probable cause developed, without physical evidence (e.g., witness statements and confessions). However, if the results of physical evidence testing (e.g., drug identification, DNA) are significant enough that their absence means releasing a suspect that is already in custody, this begs an important question. On what probable cause were the suspects arrested and being held? And how was it so weak that compelled their release in the absence of physical evidence testing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reality is that many criminal cases speed towards trial without the first clear insight into the physical evidence and its interpretation. Worse, many cases involve crucial physical evidence that is untested or still undergoing examination during trial. Some of the reasons are financial, some are strategic, and others are far less than honorable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever the reason, professional detectives will attest that it unreasonable to arrest a suspect without meeting the heavy burden required by probable cause. This means they make their case and then they make an arrest. If there is dispositive evidence that needs testing, they wait for those results before breaking out the handcuffs. Consequently, whatever the results of additional forensic testing that may be needed as new evidence in uncovered, nobody getting let out of jail because of a crime lab backlog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professional detectives have a responsibility to investigate and develop a complete case before making an arrest and handing it off to the prosecutor's office; the unbiased prosecutor, in the pursuit of truth and justice, has a responsibility to kick back any case that is weak enough to break should post-arrest evidence testing come back negative; and the defense has an obligation to explain when the first two have failed, with a loud and certain voice, during pretrial hearings and in front of the jury if it come to that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bottom line: this joint complaint by the attorneys from both sides is a red flag for a reality that should be unacceptable to both - suspects in custody without the testing of physical evidence that should have been needed put them there in the first place. If the facts of a case are unknown, and physical evidence is still being tested to figure out who was involved and what happened, then making an arrest is the least reasonable thing to do. Put another way, if a prosecutor has to release a suspect because of evidence testing, then there wasn't a good case to begin with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And on a budgetary note, it also costs more in terms of having to let people go when the evidence doesn't pan out, or enabling miscarriages of justice that result in appeals, overturned convictions, and lawsuits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/brent/brent_cv.html">Brent E. Turvey, MS</a> is a forensic scientist in private practice, and co-author of <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_812624323">Crime R</a></i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Reconstruction-Second-Edition-Chisum/dp/0123864607/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1344447835&sr=1-4">econstruction, 2nd ed</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rape-Investigation-Handbook-Second-Edition/dp/0123860296/ref=la_B001IOH19A_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1344447047&sr=1-6">Rape Investigation Handbook, 2nd ed</a></i>. He consults as a crime reconstructionist on cases involving homicide and sexual assault.</span></span></span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-24217669877646943252011-08-26T19:03:00.000-07:002013-02-25T12:18:57.441-08:00RECONSTRUCTING (UN)RELIABILITY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapjj1iKH_by7RyPr8bbTkcghOtWimx-tfCblcPuVSw_KZ0pcjf8UP1noMnP69HMuFeAHONbSg23GPqur1_LX3Le0EmyPDbAsQ9GoGbuFoL5Oc0dT81IKE9-y2h0AzqoCRwhD6dnIZ2KA/s1600/Chisum_2E_FINAL_Cover_Apr_10_2011.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645351090347171250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapjj1iKH_by7RyPr8bbTkcghOtWimx-tfCblcPuVSw_KZ0pcjf8UP1noMnP69HMuFeAHONbSg23GPqur1_LX3Le0EmyPDbAsQ9GoGbuFoL5Oc0dT81IKE9-y2h0AzqoCRwhD6dnIZ2KA/s320/Chisum_2E_FINAL_Cover_Apr_10_2011.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 235px;" /></a> <br />
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As a forensic scientist, I am frequently hired by attorneys in both criminal and civil cases to examine and reconstruct events that involve violent crime. Typically they are cases relating to shootings, strangulations, sexual assault, homicide, and combinations of these – especially in my capital (aka death penalty) work. As Jerry Chisum and I explain in the newly published second edition our text with the same name, <span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Reconstruction-Second-Jerry-Chisum/dp/0123864607/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4">Crime Reconstruction</a></i></span> is the determination of the actions and events surrounding the commission of a crime. It can be accomplished by using the statements of witnesses, the confessions of a suspects, the statements of living victims, or by examining and interpreting physical evidence (Chisum & Turvey, 2011).</div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 130%;">Admissibility v. Reliability</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Historically, law enforcement efforts have involved less focus on physical evidence (for lack of training and understanding) and more focus on developing witness or confession evidence. This is because witness statements and confession evidence are equally admissible, while easier to understand, when compared to physical evidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words, law enforcement relies on witnesses and confessions because they can; because they do not generally need it for court when they have a person that they are able to get some version of events from. This means relying on traumatized victims, emotional family members, and even making deals with co-conspirators and jailhouse informants in exchange for testimony. It also means, for less experienced investigators, pressing suspect interviews until they get what can be characterized as an inculpatory statement that can be re-characterized as a confession – whether it is or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The net effect of this practice is that all witness and suspect statements are treated as sufficiently reliable evidence, and taken at face value, by law enforcement investigators because of courtroom acceptance. Admissibility, in this view, equates to reliability. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As a consequence, this is why some (not all) law enforcement investigators are willing to go further and accept unsubstantiated statements as reliable – simply because they are admissible as evidence in court. They may even go so far as to fail to investigate beyond a statement for fear of uncovering contradictions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Regardless of acceptance by some law enforcement investigators (the same people who will rely on things that the court has actually deemed inadmissible, such as polygraphs, voice stress analysis, and even psychics), evidence reliability may not be automatically assumed in the world of forensic science. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 130%;">Passing the Reliability Test</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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As explained previously (<a href="http://criminalprofiling3.blogspot.com/2011/08/devils-deal-misunderstanding-alford.html">“Devil’s Deal: (Mis)Understanding the Alford Pleas from the ‘West Memphis 3’”</a>) - it is important to understand that scientific fact and legal truths are not the same thing, governed by very different rules and realities (Thornton and Peterson, 2002). <i>Scientific fact </i><span style="font-style: normal;">refers to information and events that have been established based on a broad factual record to a reasonable degree of objective scientific certainty by scientists using the scientific method. </span><i>Legal truth </i><span style="font-style: normal;">refers to information and events that have been established by a court ruling based on a narrow factual record—at the discretion of a judge and/or jury (Turvey et al, 2010). This is why factually innocent people can get convicted of crimes they did not commit, and the factually guilty can avoid being convicted, depending on what is presented in courtroom and how it is perceived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In some instances the court will want the forensic scientist to forget their science and its mandates in exchange for admissibility. They will want the forensic scientist to subordinate themselves to scientifically untenable legal rulings. We should be loath to do this, and have a responsibility make a clear record of when it is happening with our testimony or the testimony of others. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Forensic scientists must therefore not accept statements as fact simply because the police or the courts have accepted them as evidence. They must in fact apply a reliability test to any evidence that is incorporated into a reconstruction of events; otherwise, what they are doing is not scientific in practice. As explained in Chisum & Turvey (2011), in the chapter on practice standards for the reconstruction of crime, #3 provides (p.106): “Reconstructionists are responsible for determining whether the evidence they are examining is of sufficient quality to provide the basis for a reconstruction.” The best way to test the reliability of statement evidence (e.g., witness statements, confessions) is to compare it with the available physical evidence. If it comports with all of the known physical evidence and/ or is not refuted by it, then a degree of reliability has been achieved.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An uncorroborated or uninvestigated statement from any witnesses or suspect is, in general, insufficiently reliable for use in a scientific reconstruction. Statements only become reliable upon investigation and corroboration with the facts and evidence, such as when they align with the physical evidence or contain details that only the offender or someone who witnessed the crime could know. This is something that professional investigators understand from years of being burned by liars and DNA (see Savino and Turvey, 2011). Only the lazy and inexperienced, lacking good leadership, ignore these realities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Examples of statement evidence that should scream for further investigation and demand corroboration include, but are certainly not limited to, those from:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Jailhouse informants;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Multiple jailhouse informants;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Co-conspirators and co-defendants;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Criminals (e.g., criminal competitors, drug dealers, prostitutes, and drug addicts);<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">The mentally infirm (e.g., mentally ill, under the influence of alcohol or other drugs); <o:p></o:p></li>
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It is bad enough for an uncorroborated statement to make it into evidence, signaling an utter lack of investigation. But when uncorroborated statements come from someone that is inherently unreliable, or who is duplicitous for a living, then the failure to investigate and corroborate is all that more egregious. The lack of an investigation into such statements may even suggest the intentional concealment of potentially contrary evidence – and in any case demands both doubt and review (note: special thanks to my other co-author/colleague Det. John Savino, NYPD [ret.] for his help brainstorming the language and list in this section) .<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 130%;">Courts Catching Up with Science</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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In the past, I have placed the following language or something similar in my forensic reports when necessary: “Given that this witness does not appear to have been investigated for prior grievances with the defendant to rule out criminal culpability and ulterior motives, and that there is no corroborating physical evidence to support their statements, the reliability of their statements is unknown. As such they form an insufficient basis for any reliable forensic conclusions regarding the nature or sequence of events.” This to provide a scientific explanation for refusing to accept, at face value, statements from unreliable or uninvestigated witnesses. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In other cases, false statements from witnesses (or alleged victims) must be highlighted in a forensic report when their version conflicts with the evidence – and the court is expecting everyone to rely upon this conflicted version as fact.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMj_DH0K_DvK4vfGppaVCCOL3g_H2-NxRdSXf6qc1EyY9cqJsdKmPUN6AJaXgJ9WnhrQELsNyiKA-sdt1puEZPYtpegVzPHTxxluYAVa0agAVPuhiWUxAc4d6WDCmWLhXMCtlq3QpU2MU/s1600/shelton_myers.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645354495459219410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMj_DH0K_DvK4vfGppaVCCOL3g_H2-NxRdSXf6qc1EyY9cqJsdKmPUN6AJaXgJ9WnhrQELsNyiKA-sdt1puEZPYtpegVzPHTxxluYAVa0agAVPuhiWUxAc4d6WDCmWLhXMCtlq3QpU2MU/s200/shelton_myers.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 134px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a>For example, in a recent shooting case that I worked out of Mississippi (<i>MS v. Shelton Myers; </i>pictured<span style="font-style: normal;">), two victims were shot. They were husband and wife. The husband died at the scene, and the wife claims she was both shot and witnessed other events that she recounted in her testimony before the jury. In my reconstruction report, I noted that she had admitted to bringing a Lorcin .25 caliber pistol to the crime scene; that she had dropped it immediately upon finding the mortally wounded body of her husband in the street; and that it had possibly gone off once or twice. I also noted that police investigators recovered (4) .25 cal. shell casings from near the body of her husband, indicating that it had been fired at least four times from at or near that location. Even the crime scene investigator in the case was forced to acknowledge that she must have been lying in her testimony – that guns don’t really go off like that when they are dropped, and definitely not four times. This lie caused every other “fact” in her testimony to be doubted, and ultimately caused the jury to acquit the defendant of murder (Doherty, 2011). And rightfully so. However this lie would not have been identified had the case not been reconstructed, and had the defense not scrupulously questioned the police investigators about the possibility of a dropped gun resulting in four shots. This is something that could (should?) have been identified by police investigators, and the prosecution, much earlier, but wasn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The point being that there are times when statement evidence cannot be accepted uncritically, and especially by forensic scientists, due to a lack of reliability. And the courts are finally catching up with this reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In New Jersey, the State Supreme Court acknowledged the general lack of reliability in eyewitness identification, and changed the rules about how such evidence may be admitted in a profound way. As explained in Weiser (2011):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">The New Jersey Supreme Court, acknowledging a “troubling lack of reliability in eyewitness identifications,” issued sweeping new rules on Wednesday making it easier for defendants to challenge such evidence in criminal cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">The court said that whenever a defendant presents evidence that a witness’s identification of a suspect was influenced, by the police, for instance, a judge must hold a hearing to consider a broad range of issues. These could include police behavior, but also factors like lighting, the time that had elapsed since the crime or whether the victim felt stress at the time of the identification.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">When such disputed evidence is admitted, the court said, the judge must give detailed explanations to jurors, even in the middle of a trial, on influences that could heighten the risk of misidentification. In the past, judges held hearings on such matters, but they were far more limited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">The decision applies only in New Jersey, but is likely to have considerable impact nationally. The state’s highest court has long been considered a trailblazer in criminal law, and New Jersey has already been a leader in establishing guidelines on how judges should handle such testimony.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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For the complete ruling, see: <span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/pressrel/HENDERSON%20FINAL%20BRIEF%20.PDF%20%2800621142%29.PDF">New Jersey v. Larry R. Henderson</a></i></span> (Supreme Court ff New Jersey A-8-08, September Term 2008). See also: “<a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/NJ_Judge_Calls_for_Overhaul_of_Eyewitness_Identification_Standards.php" style="color: blue;">NJ Judge Calls for Overhaul of Eyewitness Identification Standards</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">,” </span>and<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> “</span><a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/eyewitness_testimony_is_unreli.html" style="color: blue;">N.J. courts need stricter standards for eyewitness testimony, report says</a>.” The need for expert testimony on this issue, and for reconstructions that help corroborate or refute unreliable witness testimony, has never been so clear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In California, a law has recently been passed (SB 687) to help ensure that no judge or jury convicts a defendant based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a jailhouse informant. This law will, in effect, require criminal investigation that considers physical evidence as well as statement testimony, in cases where there is no direct witness to the crime. See: “<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://dist03.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7BF0DFD1A5-1C7B-4F09-9F09-C48A423D1072%7D&DE=%7BC08A372C-FDF9-4D1F-ADF1-77ADA7741245%7D">Legislation Seeking to Curtail Wrongful Convictions Passes Assembly</a></span>” and “<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/02/BAEG1KI25B.DTL">Law requires corroboration of cellmate's testimony</a></span>.” At least 17 other states already have similar laws.</div>
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Soon, the Supreme Court of the United States (aka SCOTUS) will revisit the question of the proper admissibility of eyewitness identifications. As explained in Liptak (2011):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">Every year, more than 75,000 eyewitnesses identify suspects in criminal investigations. Those identifications are wrong about a third of the time, a pile of studies suggest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">Mistaken identifications lead to wrongful convictions. Of the first 250 DNA exonerations, 190 involved eyewitnesses who were wrong, as documented in “Convicting the Innocent,” a recent book by Brandon L. Garrett, a law professor at the University of Virginia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">Many of those witnesses were as certain as they were wrong. “There is absolutely no question in my mind,” said one. Another was “120 percent” sure. A third said, “That is one face I will never forget.” A fourth allowed for a glimmer of doubt: “This is the man, or it is his twin brother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">In November, the Supreme Court will return to the question of what the Constitution has to say about the use of eyewitness evidence. The last time the court took a hard look at the question was in 1977. Since then, the scientific understanding of human memory has been transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">Indeed, there is no area in which social science research has done more to illuminate a legal issue. More than 2,000 studies on the topic have been published in professional journals in the past 30 years. What they collectively show is that it is perilous to base a conviction on a witness’s identification of a stranger. Memory is not a videotape. It is fragile at best, worse under stress and subject to distortion and contamination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">The unreliability of eyewitness identification is matched by its power.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The case under review is <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/10-8974.htm"><i>Perry v. New Hampshire</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, No, 10-8974</span></a>. The aforementioned decision in <span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/pressrel/HENDERSON%20FINAL%20BRIEF%20.PDF%20%2800621142%29.PDF">New Jersey v. Larry R. Henderson</a> </i></span>is going to play no small part in educating the Justices regarding the current state of the literature on the fallibility of human memory and subsequent IDs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHD_OoyPySYloTc5A1VVxko7ezp-kiVvO3kj6lvRp9_QllN0mchVsMPz0xYRfSDB-PnCPPJWLntWJ2Hwp9YkTcbClbTtS0BJqVb0OllYPKo_X7cWJ5-xl2zTJJTkd9ZJBq11G7KDPdo60/s1600/Paul_L_Kirk.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645352033548758242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHD_OoyPySYloTc5A1VVxko7ezp-kiVvO3kj6lvRp9_QllN0mchVsMPz0xYRfSDB-PnCPPJWLntWJ2Hwp9YkTcbClbTtS0BJqVb0OllYPKo_X7cWJ5-xl2zTJJTkd9ZJBq11G7KDPdo60/s320/Paul_L_Kirk.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 264px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 180px;" /></a>All of this only serves to strengthen that which I was taught in the very first forensic science course that I ever attended. Regarding the reliability of physical evidence over everything else, as explained many years ago by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_L._Kirk">Dr. Paul Leland Kirk</a> (pictured), the father of modern forensic science: “This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong; it cannot perjure itself; it cannot be wholly absent. Only its interpretation can err,” (Kirk, 1953; p. 4).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 180%;">REFERENCES</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Chisum, W.J. and Turvey, B. (2011) <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Reconstruction-Second-Jerry-Chisum/dp/0123864607/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6"><i>Crime Reconstruction, 2<sup>nd</sup> Ed</i></a></span>., San Diego: Elsevier Science.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doherty, T. (2011) “Man found not guilty in Slaying case,” <i>The Clarion Ledger</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, March 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Elko, B. (2011) “<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/02/BAEG1KI25B.DTL">Law requires corroboration of cellmate's testimony</a></span>,” <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, August 3; p.C2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kirk, P. (1953) <i>Crime Investigation</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, New York: Interscience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Liptak, A. (2011) “<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23bar.html?_r=1">34 Years Later, Supreme Court Will Revisit Eyewitness IDs</a></span>,” <i>New York Times</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, August 22.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Savino, J. and Turvey, B. (2011) <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rape-Investigation-Handbook-Second-Savino/dp/0123860296/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4"><i>Rape Investigation Handbook, 2<sup>nd</sup> Ed</i></a></span>., San Diego: Elsevier Science. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thornton, J. and Peterson, J. (2002) “The General Assumptions and Rationale of Forensic Identification,” In: Faigman, D. L., Kaye, D. H., Saks, M. J. and Sanders, J. (Eds.) <i>Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony, vol. 3</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Turvey, B., Ferguson, C. and Petherick, W. (2010) <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Criminology-Wayne-Petherick/dp/0123750717/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8"><i>Forensic Criminology</i></a></span><i>,</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> San Diego: Elsevier Science.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Weiser, B. (2011) “<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/nyregion/in-new-jersey-rules-changed-on-witness-ids.html">In New Jersey, Rules Are Changed on Witness IDs</a></span>,” <i>New York Times</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, August 24.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-23203061202372931282011-03-11T17:40:00.000-08:002011-03-12T00:02:26.662-08:00Kansas Bill Allows Forensic Scientists to Avoid Proper Qualification and Subvert Due Process<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">by </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brent-E.-Turvey/e/B001IOH19A/"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brent E. Turvey, MS</span></span></i></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This week, legislators in the State of Kansas passed a bill that would allow crime lab reports to be entered into evidence during court proceedings without need of courtroom testimony from those who wrote them (reported in Lefler, 2011). </span><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kansas </span></span></a><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">House Bill No. 2057</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, by the Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice, provides forensic scientists working for the state with not only a blanket presumption of credibility and expertise, it also sets in place a barrier to proper expert qualification.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There are several problems with this. First, it violates the defendant's Constitutional right to due process. Second, it ignores the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Melendez-Diaz regarding the defendant's right to confront their accuser, requiring that forensic scientists be present when their report's are entered into evidence. Third, it provides a presumption of credibility of expertise that allows crime labs to shield inept or fraudulent examinations and examiners. And finally, it leaves the interpretation of forensic reports up to the one introducing it - likely a prosecutor. Let's consider each of these briefly.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">DUE PROCESS</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." As discussed in Turvey and Petherick (2010), due process is essentially a fairness requirement. Any condition or treatment that tends to bias a judge, jury, or the process as a whole in favor of the state is considered in violation of due process. Ideally, citizens may only be tried and punished for crimes alleged by the state under the most impartial and unprejudiced conditions. Common examples include things like inadequate or incompetent defense counsel, access to legal counsel or private forensic experts, and failure to disclose exculpatory evidence or witnesses. In reality, the government has more money, more resources to draw from, and often benefits from a presumption of guilt held by ignorant and even partial jurors. Even under the best of conditions, due process is an ideal rather than a reality. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To abide the mandates of due process, scientists employed by the government must conduct forensic examinations in such a way as to be transparent in their methods and findings. As explained by the National Academy of Sciences (Edwards and Gotsonis, 2009; pp. 6–3):</span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"As a general matter, laboratory reports generated as the result of a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">scientific analysis should be complete and thorough. They should </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">describe, at a minimum, methods and materials, procedures, results, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and conclusions, and they should identify, as appropriate, the sources </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of uncertainty in the procedures and conclusions along with estimates </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of their scale (to indicate the level of confidence in the results).</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Although it is not appropriate and practicable to provide as much detail </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">as might be expected in a research paper, sufficient content should be </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">provided to allow the nonscientist reader to understand what has been </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">done and permit informed, unbiased scrutiny of the conclusion.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Some forensic laboratory reports meet this standard of reporting, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">but most do not. Some reports contain only identifying and agency </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">information, a brief description of the evidence being submitted, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a brief description of the types of analysis requested, and a short </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">statement of the results (e.g., “The green, brown plant material in item </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">#1 was identified as marijuana”). The norm is to have no description </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of the methods or procedures used, and most reports do not discuss </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">measurement uncertainties or confidence limits. Many disciplines </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">outside the forensic science disciplines have standards, templates, and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">protocols for data reporting. Although some of the Scientific Working </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Groups have a scoring system for reporting findings, they are not </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">uniformly or consistently used.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Forensic science reports, and any courtroom testimony stemming from </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">them, must include clear characterizations of the limitations of the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">analyses, including associated probabilities where possible. Courtroom </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">testimony should be given in lay terms so that all trial participants </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">can understand how to weight and interpret the testimony. In order </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to enable this, research must be undertaken to evaluate the reliability </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of the steps of the various identification methods and the confidence </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">intervals associated with the overall conclusions."</span></span></p></blockquote> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In other words, notes and reports must be discovered to the defense in a timely </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">fashion prior to trial. Scientists must willingly make themselves available to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the defense for pretrial interviews about their methods and findings. They </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">must not withhold, conceal, or distort their methods and findings—especially </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">if their findings tend to exculpate or exonerate the defendant. And generally </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">they must treat the prosecution and the defense equally—even if the police </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">department or prosecutor’s office signs their paycheck.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'times new roman';font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'times new roman';font-size:medium;">But, as determined in the investigation of forensic science conducted by the National Academy of Science quoted above, most forensic science reports don't accomplish this. Consequently, the only way for due process to even have the chance of prevailing is for the forensic scientist to show up in court with their report in order to explain what's missing from it, and what it means. Science, it must be understood, cannot be taken at face value. It's reliability is found only in the details regarding procedures and methodology that are regularly omitted from such reports.</span></p></div></span></span><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">MELENDEZ-DIAZ</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In </span></span><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-591.ZS.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, the United States Supreme Court held that "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Under </span></span><i style="font-style: italic; "><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-9410.ZS.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Crawford</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> a witness’s testimony against a defendant is inadmissible unless the witness appears at trial or, if the witness is unavailable, the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination." It further held that forensic scientists, and their evidence examination reports, are not exempt from this requirement. If a forensic science report is to be admitted, it must be accompanied in court by the actual forensic scientist who wrote it so that they might be questioned as to issues regarding its origins and reliability. They cannot simply send a crime lab report to be accepted and believed without a real live person there to vouch for what's written in it.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">UNEARNED CREDIBILITY AND EXPERTISE</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">One of the necessary safeguards for incompetent or inexpert testimony is expert </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">voir dire. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Before a forensic expert may give testimony in court regarding any expert findings or opinions, they must first be qualified by the court as an expert, based on their education, training, or experience (and then their testimony must deemed properly admissible, which is strictly a legal question). During </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">voir dire</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, the forensic expert is presented to the court by the side that has called them to testify; they are asked questions regarding their qualifications in direct examination; they are then challenged regarding their qualifications under cross-examination by opposing counsel and the court. This is true whether one is testifying on behalf of the prosecution or the defense. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now,it is a well known fact that judicial rulings regarding who is, and who is not, an admissible expert are generally biased in favor of the prosecution, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">as discussed in Moreno (2004):</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Judges routinely admit expert testimony offered by prosecutors, but </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">frequently exclude expert testimony offered by the defense. A review </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of federal criminal court cases reveals that 92% of prosecution experts </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">survive defense challenges while only 33% of defense experts survive </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">challenges by federal prosecutors. A recent study of federal appellate </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">criminal cases found that more than 95% of prosecutors’ experts are </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">admitted at trial, while fewer than 8% of defense experts are allowed </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to testify. Why do judges consistently fail to scrutinize prosecution </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">experts? Maybe it is the uniform. The most common prosecution expert </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">witness is a police officer or a federal agent. In state and federal criminal </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">trials, law enforcement experts are routinely permitted to testify to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">opinions and conclusions derived from their on-the-job experience and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">personal observations. Prosecutors rely on police officer experts most </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">frequently in narcotics cases. In drug cases, law enforcement experts </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">are often asked to interpret ambiguous words or phrases used by the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">defendant and/or his coconspirators. The purpose of, and problem with, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">this expert testimony is that it tells jurors precisely which inculpatory </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">inferences they should draw from the factual evidence."</span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span><p></p><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While this might not seem immediately relevant in the Kansas decision, we should pause to note that many of the forensic scientists working in that state are in fact employed directly by law enforcement agencies. In any case, </span></span><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kansas </span></span></span></a><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">House Bill No. 2057</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> provides absolute cover from the voir dire safeguard by fast-tracking the admission of state sponsored expert findings. Like a stack of blank arrest or search warrants that have pre-signed by a judge, the problem of pre-endorsing expertise assumes too much and would encourage the worst practices. It assumes unbiased competence, as well as proper levels of education and expertise, on the part of state employed forensic scientists.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The ability to confront forensic scientists about their qualifications has uncovered enough outright state sponsored fraud that it must be protected as an invaluable tool for justice - not discarded for the sake of expediency. Frankly, this level of confidence has not been earned by the current forensic science community. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As found in Turvey (2003), when forensic fraud occurs it is generally on behalf of the state (85% of the time); and as the many crime lab scandals have taught us, notions of forensic competence are often misplaced in what is widely regarded as a biased and broken forensic science system (</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Edwards and Gotsonis, 2009)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To be very clear, presuming that those employed by the prosecution are inherently credible</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> further tips the balance of the courtroom against the defendant, and slaps the notion of fairness across the face.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">OPEN TO INTERPRETATION</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic science reports often contain language or findings that require explanation in order to be meaningful in a given case. This can include terms of art, or limitations of methodology, or opinions that may not be made perfectly clear in the report itself. Submitted and accepted without explanation, such reports can be extremely dangerous, and may even be abused. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the absence of a forensic scientist in court to explain the meaning of findings to judges and juries, the interpretation is left for attorneys to argue. Or worse, for prosecutors to craft and elicit from non-scientist witnesses, proving an improper veneer of authority. Anyone who argues against this point has not spent any time in court paying attention to how forensic findings are used against witnesses and in opening and closing statements. Misrepresenting findings, misstating them, and worse are quite frankly common place.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Given these issues, it hardly seems likely that </span></span><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kansas </span></span></span></a><a href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/KS/HB2057"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">House Bill No. 2057</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, or any similar legislation, should have been drafted at all. That it was put on paper and then passed Senate approval suggests a deep ignorance of forensic science related law and the current culture of problems in the forensic science community. It most certainly will result in challenges, and is likely to result in a multitude of overturned cases at appeal if trial judges abide. Ultimately, such a waste of the appellate court's time will cost far more than the resources that 2057 was allegedly intended to save.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">REFERENCES</span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Edwards, H. and Gotsonis, C. (2009) </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A Path Forward, </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">National Academies Press, Washington D.C.</span></span></p><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lefler, (2011) "</span></span><a href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/03/10/1755604/bill-lets-forensic-experts-report.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bill lets forensic experts report in writing, skip testifying</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">," </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Wichita Eagle</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, March 10.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Moreno, J. (2004) "What Happens When Dirty Harry Becomes an (Expert) Witness for </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the Prosecution?" </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tulane Law Review,</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Vol. 79, November; pp.1–54.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Turvey, B. (2003) “Forensic Frauds: A Study of 42 Cases,” </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Journal of Behavioral </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Profiling</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, 4(1).</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Turvey, B. and Petherick, W. (2010) "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cognitive Ethos of the Forensic Examiner," in </span></span><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Criminology-Wayne-Petherick/dp/0123750717/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_7"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic Criminology</span></span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, San Diego: Elsevier Science.</span></span></p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-15787380560092654022011-03-11T15:46:00.000-08:002011-03-11T16:05:04.347-08:00Crime Scene Analysis & Criminal Profiling Seminar<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size:130%;"><u><img border="0" src="http://www.forensic-science.com/cp3_cover_actual_sm.jpeg" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="278" height="188" /></u></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><p style="font-family:Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">Forensic Solutions and the Academy of Behavioral Profiling are pleased to sponsor the following two day training event in conjunction with the Elgin Community College. College credit is available for ECC students.</span></p></div></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is a two (2) day session where students learn theory and practice through the structured examination of case study material. The first day will involve the theory and practice of an holistic approach to crime reconstruction. The second day will involve the theory and practice of crime scene analysis. Each day will culminate in group work with actual case material.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span></span></span></div></div></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This workshop is open to the public, and is strongly recommended for students and professionals who are working or studying in areas related to:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Criminology
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Criminal Investigation
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Criminal Justice
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Forensic Nursing
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Forensic Science
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Law Enforcement
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Legal studies
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Mental Health/ Counseling
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Psychology
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Sociology
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Women's studies
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">• Victimology</span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span><hr style="font-family:Times;"><p style="font-family:Times;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "></span></b></p><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><div style="display: inline !important; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">LOCATION</span></span></b></div></div></b></span><b></b><p></p></b></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Elgin Community College
<br />ATC Auditorium
<br />1700 Spartan Dr.
<br />Elgin, Illinois 60134</span></span></div></span></b></div></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br />SEMINAR DATES & TIMES
<br />April 8-9, 2011; 9:00AM - 4:40PM
<br />
<br />REGISTRATION COSTS
<br />ECC Students: $30 USD
<br />Non-ECC Students: $50 USD
<br />Non-Student/ Public: $100 USD
<br />
<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ECC STUDENTS</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br />
<br />ECC students can concurrently enroll in PSY220.101 for course credit. See http://accessecc.elgin.edu, or contact Dr. Shawn Mikulay for more information.
<br /></span></span><hr style="font-family:Times;"><p style="font-family:Times;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CONTACTS</span></span></b></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brent E. Turvey, MS
<br />bturvey@forensic-science.com
<br />907-738-5121
<br />
<br />Shawn Mikulay, PhD
<br />smikulay@elgin.edu
<br />847-214-7963</span></span></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: medium; "><hr face="Times"><p style="font-family:Times;"><img border="0" src="http://www.forensic-science.com/turvey_mikulay_Ohio_2010.jpeg" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="336" height="249" alt="Brent <span class=" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" /></p></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">INSTRUCTORS</span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brent E. Turvey, MS</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br />Forensic Scientist & Criminal Profiler
<br />
<br />Brent E. Turvey holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with an emphasis on Forensic Psychology, and an additional Bachelor of Science in History. He went on to receive his Masters of Science in Forensic Science after studying at the University of New Haven, in West Haven, Connecticut.
<br />
<br />Since graduating in 1996, Brent has consulted with many government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and private attorneys in the United States, Australia, China, Canada, Barbados, Korea and Scotland on a range of rapes, homicides, and serial/ multiple rape/ death cases, as a forensic scientist and criminal profiler. This includes cases under investigation, as well as those going to trial. He has also been court qualified as a forensic expert in the areas of criminal profiling, forensic science, victimology, and crime reconstruction, providing expert examinations and testimony for the last 15 years.
<br />
<br />He is the author of Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ed. (1999, 2002, 2008, 2011); and co-author of Rape Investigation Handbook, 1st and 2nd Ed. (2004, 2011), Crime Reconstruction, 1st and 2nd Ed. (2006, 2011), and Forensic Victimology (2009) - all with Elsevier Science. For a complete list of titles, see Amazon.com.
<br />
<br />Brent is currently a full partner, Forensic Scientist, Criminal Profiler, and Instructor with Forensic Solutions, LLC, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology and Justice Studies at Oklahoma City University. He is also the Secretary of the Academy of Behavioral Profiling, as well as a member of their board of directors.
<br />
<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Shawn Mikulay, PhD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">
<br />Associate Professor of Psychology
<br />Vice President, Academy of Behavioral Profiling
<br />
<br />Shawn Mikulay received his BA, MA, and PhD in Psychology, and his MS in Industrial Management from Northern Illinois University. His published research is concentrated in the ara of employee deviance. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Elgin Community College, and teaches courses in experimental, developmental, social, introductory, and forensic psychology, as well as human sexuality.
<br />
<br />He is currently serving as the Vice President of the Academy of Behavioral Profiling.</span></span></div><div><hr style=" ;font-family:Times;"><p style="font-family:Times;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">REGISTRATION</span></span></b></p></div><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Those interested in registering for this workshop may pay by check, money order, Visa, MC, or Discover.
<br />
<br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Check or Money Order</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
<br />Make all checks or international money orders payable to Forensic Solutions, LLC in US Dollars. Also, provide your name, employment/ student information, and contact information including phone and email so that we can contact you and send updates.
<br />
<br />Mail to:
<br />ECC Seminar c/o
<br />Forensic Solutions, LLC
<br />P.O. Box 2175
<br />Sitka, Alaska 99835
<br />
<br /></span><p style=" ;font-family:Times;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Visa/ MC</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
<br />Click on the appropriate link below.</span></p><blockquote style="font-family:Times;"><table border="0" width="55%"><tbody><tr><td width="59%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">ECC Students: $30 USD</span></td><td width="41%" valign="middle" align="left"><b><a href="http://www.digital-evidence.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=courses&Product_Code=ecc1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">REGISTER NOW</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">!</span></b></td></tr><tr><td width="59%"><hr /><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Non-ECC Students: $50 USD</span></p></td><td width="41%" valign="middle" align="left"><b><a href="http://www.digital-evidence.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=courses&Product_Code=stu1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">REGISTER NOW</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">!</span></b></td></tr><tr><td width="59%"><hr /><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Non-Student/ Public: $100 USD</span></p></td><td width="41%" valign="middle" align="left"><b><a href="http://www.digital-evidence.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=courses&Product_Code=seminar"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">REGISTER NOW</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">!</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><hr /><p style="font-family:Times;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Web Page</span></u></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">: http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2011.html</span></p></div></span></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-19175461828803339472010-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:002010-09-06T12:49:06.017-07:00Crime Scene Analysis & Reconstruction Seminar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.forensic-science.com/cr_cover1_sm.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 290px;" src="http://www.forensic-science.com/cr_cover1_sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Forensic Solutions and the <a href="http://www.profiling.org/">Academy of Behavioral Profiling</a> are pleased to sponsor the following two day training event in conjunction with the <a href="http://www.kennesaw.edu/police/frames.html">Kennesaw State University Police Department</a>, approved by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST).</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; "><span style="font-family:Arial;">This is a two (2) day session where students learn theory and practice through the structured examination of case study material. The first day will involve the theory and practice of an holistic approach to crime reconstruction. The second day will involve the theory and practice of crime scene analysis. Each day will culminate in groupwork with actual case material.</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><u>Web Page</u></b>: <a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html">http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html</a></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size:130%;"><u>LOCATION</u></span></b><br /></span><span class="style12"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Kennesaw State University Center<br />Burrus Institute (West Entrance)<br />Room 327<br />3333 Busbee Dr.<br />Kennesaw GA 30144</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><u><sub><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><b>SEMINAR </b></span></sub></u><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><u><sub><span style="font-size:130%;">DATES & TIMES</span></sub></u><br /></b>October 18-19, 2010; 8:30AM - 3:30PM</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><b><u>INSTRUCTORS</u></b></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size:130%;">Brent E. Turvey, MS</span><br />Forensic Scientist & Criminal Profiler</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Times; "><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Brent E. Turvey holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with an emphasis on Forensic Psychology, and an additional Bachelor of Science in History. He went on to receive his Masters of Science in Forensic Science after studying at the University of New Haven, in West Haven, Connecticut.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Times; "><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Since graduating in 1996, Brent has consulted with many government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and private attorneys in the United States, Australia, China, Canada, Barbados, Korea and Scotland on a range of rapes, homicides, and serial/ multiple rape/ death cases, as a forensic scientist and criminal profiler. This includes cases under investigation, as well as those going to trial. He has also been court qualified as a forensic expert in the areas of criminal profiling, forensic science, victimology, and crime reconstruction, providing expert examinations and testimony for the last 15 years.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Times; "><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">He is the author of <i>Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis</i>, 1st, 2nd , and 3rd Editions (1999, 2002, 2008); and co-author of <i>Rape Investigation Handbook</i> (2004), <i>Crime Reconstruction</i> (2006), and <i>Forensic Victimology</i> (2009) - all with Elsevier Science. For a complete list of titles, see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brent-E.-Turvey/e/B001IOH19A/"><i>Amazon.com</i></a>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span>Brent </span></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">is currently a full partner, Forensic Scientist, Criminal Profiler, and Instructor with <a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/">Forensic Solutions, LLC</a>, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology and Justice Studies at <a href="http://www.okcu.edu/petree/soc/faculty_detail.aspx?id=bturvey@forensic-science.com">Oklahoma City University</a>. He is also the Secretary of the </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span>Academy of Behavioral Profiling, as well as a member of their board of directors.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size:130%;">Stan Crowder, PhD</span><br />Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice<br />CJ Internship Coordinator<br />Colonel (ret), US Army, Military Police Corps<br />President, Academy of Behavioral Profiling</i></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Stan Crowder is a retired U.S. Army Military Police Colonel.<span> </span>During his 35 years of military service, Stan held in numerous positions including:<span> </span>MP Commander, Chief of Investigations for the Inspector General of Georgia, Counterdrug Coordinator, Battalion Commander, and Chief of Personnel.<span> </span>He also served seven years as a civilian police officer.<span> </span>He currently teaches in the Criminal Justice Program at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, where he has been since 1999. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Betty Siegel teaching award.<span> </span>Stan holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, as well as an MBA.<span> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span>He is also the current President of the Academy of Behavioral Profiling.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span><b><u>Web Page</u></b>: </span><a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html">http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html</a></span></p></span><p></p></span><p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-83425977892249402782010-06-27T11:32:00.001-07:002010-06-27T11:42:00.780-07:00ABP CONFERENCE & PROFILING WORKSHOP - 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OBd9Ew2hNbv3kkPu5beWuesEr-LrdnX2SjXDZ5fOXB02qu_lXveLkqMkvnOaJv8MX1G1xNg_ZBxhyphenhyphenb4ceuk8arnvtXm-acG1wRjkpzSbnD41KtXlx6u5P3msoe81aua_xsvkuGIVPGM/s1600/052008_ComColleges1_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OBd9Ew2hNbv3kkPu5beWuesEr-LrdnX2SjXDZ5fOXB02qu_lXveLkqMkvnOaJv8MX1G1xNg_ZBxhyphenhyphenb4ceuk8arnvtXm-acG1wRjkpzSbnD41KtXlx6u5P3msoe81aua_xsvkuGIVPGM/s320/052008_ComColleges1_500.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487525550748819090" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span></span><a href="http://profiling.org/abp_meeting2010.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">11</span></span></a><a href="http://profiling.org/abp_meeting2010.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Behavioral Profiling</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(ABP) will be hosted this year by </span></span><a href="http://www.owens.edu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Owens Community College</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in Toledo, Ohio on August 7th & 8th, 2010. Open to the public, thee meeting is a conference where members present papers regarding current cases and research, followed by a two day </span></span><a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Criminal Profiling Workshop</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (Aug. 9-10, 2010).</span></span></span></div><div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Since its inception in 1999, the ABP has grown to almost 200 international members with diverse student and professional backgrounds. This includes forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, criminal investigations, criminology, and forensic science. The membership is unified by their forensic work, teaching and scholarly research related to crime, criminals, and forensic examinations.</span><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The schedule of presentations at this years meeting, which is open to the public, includes lectures on the subjects of criminal profiling, behavioral analysis, investigative strategy, crime reconstruction, false confessions, serial rape, sexual homicide, and victimology.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Those interested in attending should visit the ABP's website at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.profiling.org/">www.profiling.org</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, or contact Dr. Stan Crowder</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> at <a href="mailto:scrowder@kennesaw.edu">scrowder@kennesaw.edu</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">. All are welcome.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:arial;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">Links:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1. </span></span><a href="http://www.profiling.org/abp_meeting2010.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">http://www.profiling.org/abp_meeting2010.html</span></span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">2. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html">http://www.forensic-science.com/seminar_2010.html</a></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-65496655995121706522009-03-04T01:03:00.000-08:002009-03-04T13:05:39.588-08:00Expert accused of faking evidence and perjuryScientists' conduct leaves Spector's defense team vulnerable to criticism<br /><br />Los Angeles Times<br />By Harriet Ryan<br />harriet.ryan@latimes.com<br />February 23, 2009<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-spector23-2009feb23,0,5215241.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-spector23-2009feb23,0,5215241.story</a><br /><br />When it came to hiring expert witnesses for his murder defense, Phil Spector went for the top of the line. The scientists he retained to analyze evidence in the fatal shooting of an actress are a who's who of American forensics, the men who wrote the textbooks for their fields and whose faces stare out from the television when a criminal case goes national.<br /><br />But if the conclusions of this high-profile scientific team have helped Spector's cause, the conduct of two members has left his defense vulnerable to criticism. In his first trial, a judge concluded that Dr. Henry Lee, the criminalist who gained worldwide recognition for his work on the O.J. Simpson murder trial, hid or destroyed a potentially important piece of evidence from the death scene.<br /><br />And this month at Spector's retrial, another scientist was accused by prosecutors of perjuring himself during testimony about bloodstains. The allegations set up the unusual tableau of the judge reading expert James Pex his rights as he sat on the witness stand.<br /><br />Prosecutors have portrayed the alleged misconduct as part of a larger effort by the experts to twist the evidence to the music producer's benefit as they racked up huge bills -- in Pex's case, $66,000. But Spector's attorney contests the accusations and says prosecutors are attacking the scientists when they cannot challenge their science.<br /><br />"Law enforcement can spend as much time and effort and expense as they believe necessary to put a case together and that is simply considered public servants doing their job. But if the defense hires good experts, they are trying to buy an acquittal," said Spector's attorney, Doron Weinberg.<br /><br />The clashes highlight the hard-fought nature of every piece of forensic evidence in a case where there are two competing versions of events and no eyewitness testimony. Spector and Lana Clarkson, 40, were alone in his home six years ago when a snub-nosed revolver discharged in her mouth. The music icon faces 18 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. His defense claims Clarkson shot herself.<br /><br />The effect of the attacks on the experts' credibility is unclear. In the first trial, the defense touted Lee as its star witness, but after the judge found he mishandled evidence, he balked at testifying. The defense decided not to call him, instead relying on others to make the case for suicide. That jury split 10 to 2 in favor of conviction.<br /><br />In the current case, Spector's attorney alleges Pex simply mixed up some photographs that were extraneous to his testimony anyhow. But prosecutors are expected to tell jurors in their closing arguments that Pex is a perjurer whose every conclusion -- including findings the defense says exonerate Spector -- should be disregarded.<br /><br />Pex, a retired laboratory director from Oregon who has appeared on "Good Morning America," "Dateline" and the Discovery Channel, also faces the prospect of criminal prosecution. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said there would be no decision during the trial.<br /><br />Pex is covered by a gag order on witnesses. He was among a host of experts from both sides who testified about bloodstains at the scene. Under questioning by Spector's attorney Feb. 10, he pointed out what he said was blood spatter on the grip of the gun and said it indicated that Spector couldn't have been clutching the weapon when it went off. A "more probable circumstance," he told the jury, was that Clarkson pressed the trigger.<br /><br />Pex supplemented his conclusions with a PowerPoint presentation of photos of experiments he said he conducted in October with a blood-soaked sponge and a Colt Cobra, the same type of gun used in the shooting. But on cross-examination the next day, the prosecution confronted him with evidence showing that some of the photos were from a previous experiment he conducted with a different weapon.<br /><br />"You falsified an experiment for this jury," Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson charged during cross-examination. Outside the jury's presence, the prosecutor called Pex a highly paid liar.<br /><br />The defense said the photo mix-up was an innocent mistake that did not detract from the expert's "extremely significant" findings.<br /><br />"It was a mistake on a very small point. It's not perjury. It's not a lie. It's a mistake and it's being blown out of proportion," Weinberg said.<br /><br />Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said he did not have enough evidence to determine whether misconduct had occurred, but before jurors returned to the courtroom for more testimony from the expert, the judge informed Pex that based on the perjury allegations, he had the right to an attorney.<br /><br />"If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one for you at no cost to yourself," Fidler told him.<br /><br />"I read my transcripts from yesterday. I don't need one," Pex replied.<br /><br />The tense courtroom scene with Pex recalled the controversy involving Lee in 2007. The Connecticut scientist was summoned to the courtroom to answer charges by two former members of the defense team who said they saw him recover a small white object from the death scene. Prosecutors said he never turned it over to them and speculated that it might have been a piece of fingernail that could advance their case.<br /><br />Lee denied picking up such an item, but the judge said he found the testimony of a former defense attorney more credible and allowed prosecutors to call the lawyer as a witness.<br /><br />In a telephone interview last week, Lee said the incident had damaged his reputation and caused him to rethink the justice system and his role. Lawyers in other cases raised the misconduct allegations from the Spector trial, and he sensed the public was responding to him differently as well.<br /><br />"It smeared me," he said.<br /><br />Although he remains on the defense witness list, Lee said he wanted nothing to do with the Spector proceeding.<br /><br />"I refuse to participate in the case anymore because nobody is interested in the facts and the truth," he said.<br /><br />He has turned his attention to cold cases and the training of law enforcement in evidence-collection techniques, he said.<br /><br />USC law professor Jean Rosenbluth, who closely followed Spector's first trial, said "a certain cynicism" exists among the public when it comes to paid expert witnesses. She said that when confronted with conflicting evidence, jurors sometimes disregard the entire area of testimony.<br /><br />"They figure out that the experts don't necessarily know what they are talking about and they focus on other evidence," she said.<br /><br />Pex's recent stumble has not soured Spector's defense on forensic experts. Dr. Vincent DiMaio, a pathologist from Texas who concluded that Clarkson's death was a spur-of-the-moment suicide, is expected on the stand next week.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><p align=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; ">________________________________________</span></span></span></p><p align=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">Brent E.Turvey, MS, also author of </span><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/fs_bookstore/cp/cp_index.html" style="color: rgb(34, 85, 136); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">Criminal Profiling, 3rd Ed</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">. with Elsevier Science (2008), can be reached at <a href="mailto:%20bturvey@forensic-science.com" style="color: rgb(34, 85, 136); ">bturvey@forensic-science.com</a>.</span></span></p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-47006719795471672032009-02-25T09:21:00.000-08:002009-03-04T13:06:47.344-08:00NAS Report: No Science in Forensic Science<div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Forensic scientists come in many forms, and their numbers include many examiners who do not work in crime labs. They also lack uniform standards in education and methodology; their conclusions often lack scientific rigor and are overly confident; and they are too often marked by improper alignment with law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. As consequence, the forensic science community is fragmented and broken, cannot identify let alone fix its own problems, and does not speak with a single voice about what is best for its future. Moreover, it has proven incapable of holding itself accountable for anything that it does. Such are the findings in the recently published report by the National Academy of Science (NAS), </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">(Edwards and Gotsonis, 2009). Subsequently, it falls to those of us who are relatively free to respond of their own accord, without political affiliation, censure, or fear of reprisal, to do so. This commentary is prepared in that spirit.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The commentary is available here, as a pdf: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:-webkit-monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/Turvey_NAS.pdf"></a></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/Turvey_NAS.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.corpus-delicti.com/Turvey_NAS.pdf</span></span></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:-webkit-monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The NAS Report (released February 18, 2009), along with related press releases and presentations, is available here:<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://nationalacademies.org/morenews/20090218.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://nationalacademies.org/morenews/20090218.html</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><p align=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; ">________________________________________</span></span></span></p><p align=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">Brent E.Turvey, MS, also author of </span><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/fs_bookstore/cp/cp_index.html" style="color: rgb(34, 85, 136); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">Criminal Profiling, 3rd Ed</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">. with Elsevier Science (2008), can be reached at <a href="mailto:%20bturvey@forensic-science.com" style="color: rgb(34, 85, 136); ">bturvey@forensic-science.com</a>.</span></span></p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7799500976168580332.post-67977917366483526352008-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:002008-10-07T22:21:08.372-07:00A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CRIME RECONSTRUCTION<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQXsrMDKwTiEyDamtNy7Yd-RoNp_Aus85qU1XvKYYkpK6KW6cM1esRWt0qsPhsK_p1VDb8meLEH53SvPLYNQF69NqKLirpXbtSd0gPz_8ATMyh8fleekEqeIooeeK0sidPeQr2FiknOI/s400/cr_cover1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254635256316245666" /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Preface to </span></span><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/fs_bookstore/cr/cr_index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Crime Reconstruction</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> - "A Holistic Approach to Crime Reconstruction" by W. Jerry Chisum & Brent E. Turvey, MS - Elsevier, 2006</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. Emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole.</span></p> <p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">—</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Holistic</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, Dictionary Definition</span></p> <p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What is the nature of the whole, and what is my nature, and how this is related to that, and what kind of a part it is of what kind of a whole.</span></p> <p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">—Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 167 CE, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Meditations, Book II</span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Holistic crime reconstruction </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is the development of actions and circumstances based on the system of evidence discovered and examined in relation to a particular crime. In this philosophy, all elements of evidence that come to light in a given case are treated as interdependent; the significance of each piece, each action, and each event falls and rises on the backs of the others. More evidence gives rise to more meaning, and less evidence necessarily allows for the resolution of less meaning. The final reconstruction is a function of this system, of how much evidence there is, and whether and how it interrelates and maintains its consistency.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A system of related evidence and any conclusions based thereon are like a mechanical engine or a biological organ, with few if any extraneous parts working judiciously, and in harmony, toward a desired end. If one of the parts fails, then the whole system suffers and may fail. With evidence and its interpretation it is precisely so. Interpretations must be compatible, working in concordance to support each other. Or at the very least not working against each other. Bloodstain pattern interpretations must not contradict the ballistic analysis, trace evidence must not contradict the conclusions of the arson investigator, DNA evidence must not contradict the conclusions of the fingerprint examiner, and so forth. A concordance of the evidence must be apparent. The reason for this is straightforward. Although it can be forgotten in a climate that seeks and rewards certain conclusions (namely the climate of the courts), all science, and even forensic science—especially forensic science—is grounded in skepticism. It necessarily follows that a finding out of harmony with any of the others in its system should call one or all into question.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ORIGINS: THE FORENSIC GENERALIST</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The foundation for holistic crime reconstruction doctrine was introduced more than a century ago, with the 1894 publication of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Handbuch fur Untersuchungsrichter als System der Kriminalistik (Criminal Investigation: A Practical </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Textbook for Magistrates, Police Officers and Lawyers) </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">by the legendary Austrian jurist Dr. Johann (Hans) Baptist Gustav Gross. The goals of this manual were formative and ambitious: to establish principles of scientific investigation and to provide for the birth of the scientific investigator. The manual was a broad success with international appeal, achieving no less than five English editions (1906, 1924, 1934, 1949, and 1962). It also provided the basis for the practical work later undertaken by French scientist Dr. Edmund Locard when he established what is considered to be the world’s first police crime laboratory in Lyon, France, in 1910. Despite the passage of time and advances in technology, the philosophies of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">System der Kriminalistik </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">remain a touchstone of forensic knowledge and wisdom to the present day.</span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The approach to crime reconstruction advocated by Dr. Gross, and subsequent students of his work, was to assign such duties to a scientific investigator—what would be referred to in more modern language as a forensic generalist. The scientific investigator was to be a professional schooled broadly in the subjects of crime, criminals, and the scientific methods of their identification, apprehension, and prosecution. Their role was to understand how the system of evidence and details of a case could be established, how they could be related, and how they could be interpreted. This holistic method, branded by dispassion and an adherence to science, would ideally free the scientific investigator from the constraints of politics, cronyism, and emotional bias.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The philosophy of Hans Gross was mirrored in many subsequent published works and aspired to in numerous crime labs throughout the United States.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">THE FORENSIC GENERALIST FADES</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At present, the forensic generalist is all but a memory and until recently (Turvey, 1999; Inman & Rudin, 2000; Savino & Turvey, 2004) had not made an honest appearance in forensic science textbooks since DeForest, Gaensslen, and Lee (1983). More curiously, some forensic professionals become angered when generalists are described, let alone remembered. There is more than one reason for the disappearance of the generalist and related professional sensitivity. We focus on the three most apparent: overspecialization, diminished crime lab budgets, and the false paradigm of sides.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">THE GROSS FACTS</span></i></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic generalists and forensic specialists alike are a requirement for informed forensic case examination, laboratory testing, and crime reconstruction to occur. A forensic generalist is a particular kind of forensic scientist who is broadly educated and trained in a variety of forensic specialties. They are “big picture” people who can help reconstruct a crime from work performed with the assistance of other forensic scientists and then direct investigators to forensic specialists as needed. They are experts not in all areas, but in the specific area of evidence interpretation. According to DeForest et al</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(1983, p. 17),</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Because of the depth and complexity of criminalistics, the need for specialists is inescapable. There can be serious problems, however, with overspecialization. Persons who have a working knowledge of a broad range of criminalistics problems and techniques are also necessary. These people are called generalists. The value of generalists lies in their ability to look at all of the aspects of a complex case and decide what needs to be done, which specialists should be involved, and in which order to carry out the required examinations.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Specialization occurs when a forensic scientist has been trained in a specific forensic subspecialty, such as an area of criminalistics, forensic toxicology, forensic pathology, or forensic anthropology. Specialists are an important part of forensic science casework, with an important role to fill.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Traditionally, forensic specialists provide the bricks, and forensic generalists have traditionally provided the blueprints. In the modern forensic system, the majority of forensic scientists have become so specialized in their analytical functions that they are no longer in possession of the gross facts in the cases they work. This is a source of both angst and embarrassment to some crime lab personnel, because they would prefer that their analyses be better informed. Still others would prefer to retain the appearance of overall forensic authority that knowing the full case facts allows. Nowadays, a piece of evidence is brought to a crime lab or examiner, it is examined using a specific method, test, or procedure as the requesting agency dictates, a report of findings is written, and the overall context may or may not be known or even sought. Without the gross facts of a case, and at least some knowledge of assembling them, crime reconstruction cannot occur. Not participating in this process, for lack of skill, time, or invitation, has become a sore point for some in the community of forensic science specialists.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">UNDERFUNDED AND UNDERSTAFFED</span></i></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In terms of money, government crime laboratory budgets nationwide rarely allow for the full suite of forensic specialties, with, for example, trace evidence units vanishing in the shadow of the forensic titan that DNA has become because of its acceptance by the courts. Money, after all, is allocated for those areas of forensic science that the court has embraced. Money is not allocated for areas of forensic science that the court shows disinterest. Also, money for research is often a luxury that cannot be afforded at all.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Furthermore, government labs have faced severe budget and personnel shortages in recent years. There are several interwoven reasons for this.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">First, the demand for lab services has increased with the growing national profile of forensic science thanks to the popular media. More law enforcement officers are coming to understand that forensic evidence can help their cases, more juries are expecting it at trial, and as a result government crime labs are being asked to do more examinations on more evidence.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Second, practice standards in many regions have evolved to meet the needs of crime lab certification. Nationwide, many of the larger government crime labs and lab systems are suffering excruciating independent reviews and scrambling to meet the criteria set by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) in order to claim this coveted credential in court. To meet ASCLD/LAB criteria, more of the diminishing lab budget must be spent on quality control, adequate workspace, and adequate evidence tracking and storage. Additionally, each person must complete a proficiency test on each type of evidence he analyzes each year. This slows the amount of time forensic scientists have to work on case material and can, in extreme cases in which there are staff shortages, put the examination of evidence on hold for periods of time. The accreditation process is not easy, and it even requires some labs to simply start over and build entirely new multimillion-dollar facilities. This to say nothing of the requirement to hire more adequately qualified personnel, bringing front and center the problem of too few qualified candidates available with less money to pay them. Additionally, new forensic analytical techniques are not encouraged because they must be “proven methods”—refinements of methods are not allowed. This works against the intention of the scientific method and stamps out the spark of creativity because many of the past advances in crime lab analysis were the result of “experimentation” with actual case materials and trying something new. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Third, the public funding of state crime labs constantly suffers at the hands of wary voters who tend to lack enthusiasm for raising taxes to help fund education, let alone forensic science.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">With all of these factors at work, many government crime labs do not have the time, the resources, or the personnel to perform their regular analytical casework. As a consequence, backlogs have mounted in almost all areas of forensic analysis. In this environment, the extra time and commitment required for crime reconstruction is an added expense that becomes difficult for administrators to justify.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">THE PARADIGM OF SIDES</span></i></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The paradigm of sides challenges forensic scientists on two fronts, presenting a false choice in which they are invited to abandon their chosen profession for advocacy. First, there is the obvious division between the prosecution and the defense. More than a few forensic scientists work in an environment that rewards them for thinking and behaving as though there is a morally right side of the courtroom and a morally wrong side of the courtroom. By choosing fidelity to one side of the courtroom over another, the forensic scientist not only loses that which defines science, namely objectivity, but the forensic scientist also presumes a role in court not meant for any expert or witness—that of the trier of fact. It is not the place of the forensic scientist to decide who is worthy of a defense, who is legally or actually guilty, or how they should be punished. These are moral and legal conclusions, which brings us to the second part of the paradigm of sides: the division between scientific fact and legal truth. The forensic scientist is an educator to the court. It is the role of the forensic scientist to establish scientific fact and explain what it means to an investigator, attorney, judge, or jury in the context of a given case. Moreover, the scientific facts should be the same no matter which side the forensic scientist is working for. It is the role of the judge and jury, not the forensic scientist, to form legal conclusions about who is guilty of what, and what the penalty should be based on the totality of evidence.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Although often confused, scientific fact and legal truth are not the same thing. Scientific fact is established through careful examination using the scientific method. Legal truth is determined by the trier of fact, based on available and admissible evidence, as well as their understanding of the law. This is made abundantly clear in cases of wrongful conviction, in which a person may be found legally guilty of a crime without having actually committed it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Juries do not, consequently, determine the ultimate facts of a case, only the legal facts. This distinction becomes important when one considers the roles played in our justice system by directed verdicts, appellate courts, supreme courts, gubernatorial pardons, and DNA exonerations, all of which have the power to influence or overturn a juries estimation of the facts and its final verdict. Subsequently, the abilities of a forensic scientist are not measured in arrests, convictions, or even acquittals, as will be made evident throughout this work. Forensic science, although a servant to court, must serve itself first in order to have any intrinsic value. When science chooses a side other than itself in any conflict or dispute, it is no longer science but advocacy.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The majority of forensic scientists have no trouble understanding the gravity involved in navigating the paradigm of sides on this level and would rather resign from a case or an agency than sacrifice their objectivity and integrity. The true forensic scientist knows that his first onus is to his profession, and that if there is no science, there can be no forensic science. This community understanding is all well and good until it is remembered that a fair number of forensic scientists work in government crime labs that are housed within, or directly supervised by, police agencies or district attorney’s offices. In terms of the actual reconstruction of crime, police and prosecutors are faced with the reality that the scientists they employ may not always agree with their theories regarding a case. In fact, in some instances, the evidentiary findings of the crime lab may hamper or even disprove an important point upon which a police or prosecution theory is built.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For some government agencies, this internal evidence-based self-correction is a welcome adjustment to the course of a criminal investigation and any future prosecution. However, history has shown that this is not always so. Not all government crime labs enjoy an open or healthy relationship with their law enforcement and prosecutorial supervisors. Also, a significant number of government agencies remain hesitant to put their scientists in a position in which they can reconstruct the crime in its entirety and then be called by the defense as witnesses against them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The paradigm of sides presents the forensic scientist with a false choice between prosecution or defense; between scientific fact or legal truth. Pressure to choose can be brought to bear in many ways—personal, professional, and financial. Furthermore, the pressure on a forensic scientist in such environments, to be part of the “team” and help “get the bad guys,” can be seductive and overwhelming to the point of assimilation. As discussed later in this book, the rewards for assimilation are great, and the consequences for failing to assimilate can be equally great.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Overspecialization, diminishing budgets, and the paradigm of sides—in such ways the practice and implementation of crime reconstruction has, with some exceptions, faded from many crime labs and been moved into the hands of others. The authors view this with neither frown nor favor,but rather agree to recognize that it is so; all manner of reconstruction opinions find their way into court from a variety of sources. However, in many instances, it has become clear that scientific reconstructions are being subverted and even intentionally excluded.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Consequently, with its departure from the crime lab, the practice of crime reconstruction is in no small danger of losing its footing on the ascending ladder that is the employment of scientific principles to evidence interpretation. Under no circumstance should this situation be acceptable. As such, the need for the development of this textbook becomes apparent.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">MODERN CRIME RECONSTRUCTION</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Modern forensic science and crime reconstruction is slowly becoming the work of police technicians trained inexpensively through short courses and lectures, as opposed to formally educated forensic scientists shepherded by mentors of quality experience. The difference between the two is significant. Forensic scientists do not just test or examine evidence and then record the results; they are meant to explore, understand, and explain its significance. Thornton (1997, p. 3) provides a succinct and accurate description:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The single feature that distinguishes forensic scientists from any other scientist is the certain expectation that they will appear in court and testify to their findings and offer an opinion as to the significance of those findings. The forensic scientist will testify not only to what things are, but to what things mean. This is the very heart of crime reconstruction—not just what, where, and when, but also how and why.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><br /></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The reconstruction of a crime from physical evidence is the culmination of a long and methodical process. It is the last step in the analytical journey each piece of physical evidence takes from the moment it is recognized at a crime scene. Those steps occur in roughly the same order for each item of evidence:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1. Recognition</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2. Preservation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. Documentation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4. Collection</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">5. Transportation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">6. Identification/classification</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">7. Comparison</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">8. Individuation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">9. Interpretation/reconstruction</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Traditionally, the specific duties are broken down as follows:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Detective/investigator/forensic technician</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1. Recognition</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2. Preservation</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic technician (aka crime scene technician)</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. Documentation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4. Collection</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">5. Transportation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic scientist/criminalist</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">6. Identification/classification</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">7. Comparison</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">8. Individuation</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">9. Interpretation/reconstruction</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The problem is that these forensic titles and roles are often mixed, misunderstood, or outright confused, sometimes over many generations of professionals in a given system. As a result, forensic job titles abound, with more than one to describe the same set of duties—crime scene investigator, crime scene technician, forensic investigator, evidence technician, forensic technician, laboratory technician, laboratory specialist, forensic specialist, forensic analyst, forensic scientist, criminalist, etc. What is important to remember about titles is that they are administrative and not necessarily suggestive of a particular background, education, training, or expertise. It is the work that defines the professional. It is education, training, experience, and the quality of work products that define expertise.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For the purposes of this text, it is important to become disentangled from this avalanche of jumbled titles and return to classic definitions for the purpose of clarity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">technician </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is one who is trained in specific procedures, learned by routine or repetition. A forensic technician is trained in the specific procedures related to collecting and even testing evidence found at crime scenes. This is without any need for employing or even understanding the scientific method and the principles of forensic science. This describes the police technicians documenting crime scenes and collecting evidence, and more than a few of the forensic personnel working in government crime labs.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">scientist </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is someone who possesses an academic and clinical understanding of the scientific method and the analytical dexterity to construct <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">experiments that will generate the empirical reality that science mandates. A </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">forensic scientist </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">is one who is educated and trained to examine and determine the meaning of physical evidence in accordance with the established principles of forensic science, with the expectation of presenting her findings in court. This describes fewer and fewer of those practicing forensic science in government crime labs.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As the authors have experienced on countless cases, it is technicians, investigators, and ultimately attorneys who are actually providing a majority of crime reconstructions in court, often with little understanding of forensic science or the scientific method, to say nothing of the natural limits of physical evidence. Crime lab personnel are performing any necessary laboratory analysis, but police and prosecutors are taking the final step to explain events and their relationships in court. This has the net effect of elevating the lay testimony of investigators and forensic technicians to that of the forensic scientist and of reducing the expert findings of the forensic scientist to the level of the technician.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Without the proper scientific foundation, technicians and detectives performing crime reconstructions may do so without a sense of what good science is and what constitutes the difference between assumptions, opinions, theories, and facts. To say nothing of failing to understand the actual science beneath the methods or instruments they employ in the search for evidence, a reality that often causes their explanations of false positions and false negatives to be works of useful fiction. In a related fashion, they also tend to fail with regard to grasping the necessity for testing their theories, and for continually attempting to falsify them against the revelations of experimentation and newly developed information. A scientist knows that confirmation of one’s theories is easy to find, especially if that is all one seeks. Good science is not about trying to prove one’s theories but, rather, working tirelessly to disprove them through falsification (Popper, 1963).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">HOLISTIC CRIME RECONSTRUCTION</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This textbook is aptly titled </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Crime Reconstruction</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. It is not a manual intended to explain the technical mechanics of searching or processing crime scenes or to delineate the rote procedures related to instrumental laboratory analysis. There are plenty of texts available that adequately cover these very important considerations, without which reconstruction would be impossible.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As already discussed, holistic crime reconstruction is the development of actions and circumstances based on the system of evidence discovered and examined in relation to a particular crime. It is best conceived as the function of a forensic generalist. Our purpose is to educate students and prepare generalist practitioners of the forensic sciences as to the manner in which interpretations regarding evidence may be legitimately achieved and expressed.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As we have suggested, not everyone agrees with the forensic generalist model. One of the philosophical arguments against the generalist is that “one cannot be an expert in everything.” As already stated, we do not propose that to perform crime reconstruction one needs to be an expert in <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">all forensic disciplines. We propose that forensic reconstructionists must become an expert in only one: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">the interpretation of the evidence in context</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;">. If students wish to pursue further knowledge about examination and analysis in a particular discipline, then there are several excellent publications that are available for that purpose. However, there has never been a textbook devoted only to the interpretation of evidence in context—the proofs, the perils, and the prevarications. Consequently, those studying and performing crime reconstruction have perhaps lacked some advanced measure of informed guidance on the subject. It is our collective goal to assist with filling that void.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Crime reconstruction, to be accurate, must be based on a close scientific examination of the physical evidence and the surrounding environment. These examinations must be the result of applying the scientific method. Interpretations of the meaning of subsequent results must be clearly derived by logic and critical thinking. We will try to explain these concepts so that students can understand that crime reconstruction is not just mere observation and speculation. We will also give students several ways to approach the problem of how reconstruction may be competently performed. Throughout this work we have included reconstruction techniques, interpretation guidelines, and even practice standards.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also, students will come to appreciate that the crime scene is a dynamic location; it does not remain virginal or static, as a “frozen moment of time,” but rather it is constantly subject to change. The greater the time interval between the crime, the documentation, and examination of the scene, the greater the changes may be. These changes we have referred to as e</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">vidence </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">dynamics</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. To be ignorant of the problems inherent in the interpretation of the evidence due to evidence dynamics can result in serious misinterpretation errors.</span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Different areas of physical evidence offer opportunities for reconstruction. Bloodstains, firearms, arson, and trace evidence all contribute to the whole. We have included chapters on each of these types of evidence by some of the leading experts in these fields.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Finally, there are chapters on ethics and expert testimony so that students may understand how to comport themselves professionally and what truly waits for them in the courtroom. The perspectives of the forensic scientist and the attorney are provided. As readers will come to appreciate, these considerations are far from trivial.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It is important for students of forensic science to learn that no one discipline can truly stand alone in a reconstruction. Each form of evidence must be in agreement with the other forms that are present. Each part must be meticulously established and then considered not just on its own but also in its place as part of the greater whole. What is it, how does it fit, and what does it mean in context—these are the questions asked by a reconstructionist.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Given this holistic approach, the authors have come to view reconstruction as the work of one who is sufficiently educated, trained, and experienced to understand the total body of forensic evidence and analysis in a case. That is, again, the forensic generalist. The generalist–reconstructionist, it must be understood, need not know how to perform all of the forensic examinations that were conducted. They need not have the ability to operate a camera to view a photograph; they need not have the ability to extract DNA and amplify it to comprehend a DNA analyst’s report; they need not have the ability to perform an autopsy to understand the cause and manner of death, and appreciate the trajectory of the projectiles that passed through the body. Rather, they must be able to understand what the results of forensic examinations are, how they were reached, what they mean, and how they may be integrated to create of picture of events. Integration of findings is key because crime is best reconstructed when forged by a collaboration of the forensic evidence, and not a reliance on one single examination or discipline. To rely on one piece of evidence, or one theory, without placing it in context is not only potentially misleading but also a disservice to the justice system that the forensic scientist ultimately serves.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It is our collective hope that this text will be worthy of that service and will assist the next generation of forensic generalists with the difficult tasks that are before them.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10.5px/normal Times; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">REFERENCES</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">DeForest, P., Gaennslen, R., and Lee, H. (1983). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forensic science: An introduction to criminalistics</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. New York: McGraw-Hill.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gross, H. (1906). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Criminal investigation</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Madras, India: Ramasawmy Chetty.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gross, H. (1924). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Criminal investigation</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. London: Sweet & Maxwell.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Inman, K., and Rudin, N. (2000). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Principles and practice of criminalistics: The profession of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">forensic science. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.</span></span></i></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Popper, K. (1963). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Conjectures and refutations</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. London: Routledge & Keagan Paul.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thornton, J. (1997). The general assumptions and rationale of forensic identification. In D. L. Faigman, D. H. Kaye, M. J. Saks, and J. Sanders (Eds.), </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Modern scientific evidence: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The law and science of expert testimony </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(Vol. 2). St. Paul, MN: West.</span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Savino, J., and Turvey, B. (2004). </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rape investigation handbook</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Boston: Elsevier.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Turvey, B. (1999) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, London: Elsevier Science.</span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;">_________________________________________________</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; "><b><a href="http://www.corpus-delicti.com/fs_bookstore/cr/cr_index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Crime Reconstruction</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">by W. Jerry Chisum & Brent E. Turvey; Hardcover, 608 pages, Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 2006; ISBN: 0123693756</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Brent E.Turvey, MS, also author of </span><a href="http://www.forensicvictimology.blogspot.com/" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Forensic Victimology</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> with Elsevier Science (2008), can be reached at </span><a href="mailto:%20bturvey@forensic-science.com" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">bturvey@forensic-science.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779324926345200925noreply@blogger.com0